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Smart Pots

GET MO

Registered Med User
Veteran
In my side by side it seems like the smart pots are killin the airpots, colas looking massive. Its a 2 gallon airpot vs a #2 smartpot.
 

dankohzee

Member
I have a Manitoba Medicine in an Air-pot, but it's a 7 gallon, I think, and my only plant of that strain. So I can't really compare, but I will say that it is doing wonderfully. How do you feel about the heat shedding capabilities of each? Your results would seem to point to the Smart-Pots as being superior in this regard, no?
 

GET MO

Registered Med User
Veteran
Mine are inside in coco drip system with temps that never go over 77, so I cant judge the heat.
 

onegreenday

Active member
Veteran
I used both and the smartpot has way more air and heat shedding ability.
the airpot has so much plastic to trap air/heat (even with the holes)
the smart pot is all air through the pores of the bag.
 

Calimed

Active member
Veteran
Put some 1inch rockwool clones in 1gal smart pots and got this in about 4-5 days.

By day 7 there were about 15-20 different roots coming out the bottom and sides.
 

onegreenday

Active member
Veteran
lately I've been placing a 9" net pot
upside down under the smart pot to
give it lots of air under the bag and let
the last of my feeds drain through.

I usually use pots to raise up plants so the tops are
all even in height so the net pot is a good stand to raise up the bag.
 

stoned_skater

New member
Hey Everyone,

I've been a lurker here for a while and based on this very active and informative discussion, ordered and planted this year's crop in 5 gal. Smart Pots.

My plants vegged for 6 weeks and are now about 4 weeks into flowering and are looking fab. I just cut down a male I was keeping for pollen production and took a few pictures of the root structure to share with you all.

The first picture shows the root ball pulled by the stem straight out of the bag. I have to say I've never had such a healthy and dense root structure. Usually I would have a few large roots that would wind themselves around and around the inside of the pot.

The second picture is the root structure after I shook all the the soil off. The third picture is a close up of the roots.

Hope these are helpful. Oh, and also, I found that using plastic milk crates to hold 5 gal smart pots works perfectly - easy to move as well.

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my first grow room i had never heard about air pots or others with similar concepts but i always drilled holes up and down the sides of my containers just the same , at present im useing grow bags and will be poking holes up and down them as soon as my plants sprout,,,,,why pay so much more money for this when u can do it for free?
 

onegreenday

Active member
Veteran
you just can't mach the porous cloth of the smart pot with holes punched
like you are doing. You are improving your lot but the smart pot breathes & breathes. The only drawback I found is they seem to require more watering.
I'll move up to the 3gal from the 2 gal for extra margin of safety from
drying out. the bags can be reused many times and still hold up, very
tough cloth (not sure about the stiching that sews them together)
 
i've been rockin' my DIY "smart pot" adaptation and so far, things look great! took a 14" square (i think) milk crate and lined it with landscape fabric/weedblock. for the next round, i think i'll eliminate the crate and run some fabric through my GF's sewing machine to make my own grow bags/smart pots. gonna make them at least 5-gallons for bushes. if i ever do a SOG, i'd make them into tall/skinny bags for increased volume, but close proximity.
 
not that much. i guess i'd say they use a tad more water, but i'm thinking it has more to do with the heat of summer. gotta remember that i'm using over 10 gallons of medium in this situation, so it's definitely gonna be different than say a 3 gal container. i definitely like them more than the AirPot that I'm testing out. I got 2 of them just to try them out, in the 1-2 gal size, and I just don't like the amount of water that pours out the holes in the sides - makes it difficult to fully water. a smart pot or fabric grow bag keeps the water in so it goes through the medium better. either way, i've been trying to get more frequent waterings in - i've found i get better results upping the waterings ever since i've started mixing coco into my soil blend.
 

onegreenday

Active member
Veteran
did get that milk crate up off the ground for air flow underneath?
i got mine up on upside down 9" netpots. I think it may help
even more with the air-flow through the root-mass.

we could make Soma style grow-beds on wheels but make
it out of smart pot material within a big crate like yours
it should rock with premo drainage & air flow.
 

dankohzee

Member
I've allowed the vegetation to grow up around them to help keep the pot cool.

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Okay so this isn't in a Smartpot--just thought I'd show it off:moon:

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But these are...
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did get that milk crate up off the ground for air flow underneath?
i got mine up on upside down 9" netpots. I think it may help
even more with the air-flow through the root-mass.

we could make Soma style grow-beds on wheels but make
it out of smart pot material within a big crate like yours
it should rock with premo drainage & air flow.

yes, the crate construction allows the cloth to be off the ground, thus giving you airflow from underneath as well as keeping the bottom from sitting in catch tray's liquid. my catch trays are lids from rubbermaid totes.

dankohzee - i'm really digging those huge smartpots for outdoor!
 

dankohzee

Member
Thanks man. They're definitely paying off with all the rain we had this spring. While everyone's plants were drowning, mine were growing like weeds:)
 
P

PkRipper

yes , with the two gallon pots its common to see quarter pound plants .with vegged clones for 1-2 weeks / 1000w.hps for 75 days for sativa dom. somango cross strain.

edit..
in compairson to one gallon grow bags, most ever off one plant was two oz.
 
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